I met with Mason to have a study session. During a study break, we started online shopping, and that is when the idea for critical consumption popped into my head. I took photos of Mason looking at a blank screen. I put all of the photos through Lightroom to edited the exposure. I added a vignette effect to each photo and selectively increased the exposure around the phone. I did that so the viewer’s eye would be immediately attracted to the phone, the subject of the visual essay. I took screenshots of the different stages of Mason’s shopping process and added those screenshots to the image by layering it over the blank iPhone screen in photoshop. I also photoshopped the comment bubbles into each image, which I made on Canva.com.

I learned that it is important to pay close attention to detail, which took a lot of patience. Individually editing each photo and adding elements took more time than I thought but it was worth it. I tried to edit the photos in a way that it is not that obvious that they are edited. For example, Mason’s hair was a gleaming blonde in most of the pictures. I found that to be distracting so I lowered the exposer on her hair, so that the subject of the photo was still the phone.

I have had many experiences as the one depicted. It is very frustrating, but that is why it is so important to consume critically when scrolling through any social media or website. If Mason had been more critical about the Zaful website, she could have avoided the fraudulent purchase. A major sign that the website is not credible is that all of the items for sale were also all on sale! No store puts all of their merchandise on sale at once. I have learned to keep a watchful eye when using the internet. I have bettered my editing and photoshop skills. I will use these skills in the future to improve social media posts for my internship and summer job.